"No, I don't think she'll cooperate, either. We have no other option then." Hernando sighed. "Help Valori to stand, Olivia. We're returning to BloodDark ahead of schedule."
Olivia did as she was told, gently helping her ailing friend to her feet and walking her into the aisle. "I thought we could only contact the Portal at the embassy so no one was the wiser about your transponder being built in?"
"Needs must." He shrugged. "Besides, the mystery of our disappearance will be linked to this kidnapping attempt and reflect poorly on our host. Did you hear what Grundfest let slip in conversation?"
"No, what did he say?"
"He said he's the Alphan male around here. Not alpha, but Alphan."
Olivia furrowed her brow in thought. "You're right... Wow, his slip of the tongue could mean he's been in touch with Clan Alpha outside of official channels. We've got to let the council know right away."
Annara moaned and made a face. "Do we have to depart Earth now? It wasn't a fair fight. I so wanted a good fight. I want to find out more about the arrangement between this cowardly buffoon and Clan Alpha, too."
"We'll return to Earth soon, but I think it's best if we confer with the ruling council before taking any impulsive actions." Hernando peered out of the open hatch and glanced about. "I hear voices. Someone is coming for us. We don't have time to argue. Once I tap in the sequence for an immediate transport, we'll have ten seconds."
He glided his fingertips across his left forearm in the coded pattern. "Done. Ready?"
Olivia grasped Valori tightly around her shoulders and reached for Hernando's hand, clasping it at the same moment Annara grabbed onto his other. Olivia took a deep breath, and the handsome face she trusted more than any other blurred and pixilated in front of her eyes. A rollercoaster motion sickness feeling washed over her body and then all sensation faded while a growing sense of horror and panic blossomed in her mind.
So, this is what it feels like to be transported by the Portal while conscious and sober...We've taken none of the relaxant drug which made it easier to return to Earth. Perhaps it is kinder to club your victims senseless before teleporting them across the cosmos. What will Mom and Dad think when I don't show—
Chapter Seven
Before the thought could be completed, Olivia found herself standing in the Portal on BloodDark before a sea of surprised faces.
"Quick! Catch them in case they pass out."
She took a step forward and then her legs gave way. Portal workers rushed to catch her and Valori whom she had been sheltering in her arms.
"It's all right. The effects of the Portal will wear off within a rest period," a familiar deep voice informed her. "No time to take a travel pill, I gather?"
"Pablo? Is it you?" Olivia's voice sounded weak to her own ears. Were her vocal cords still back on Earth? "Good to see you again."
"Good to see all of you, but we weren't expecting your group for several more cycles." The beefy blond smiled down at her and then gestured toward the other attendants. "Get stretchers and take them to the council chambers. Something important must have happened for the ambassador to request an emergency transport."
Olivia relaxed into the stretcher Pablo laid her upon, but fought off the urge to faint. "Valori is sick. Please get her help."
"Will do."
Closing her eyes, she fell asleep.
When she opened her eyes, Olivia was pleased to see Caveman Charlie and others of the council milling about the large chamber. Hernando sat at the long meeting table, leaning heavily on his elbows with a hot drink in his hand. Annara was nowhere to be seen. Olivia slowly raised herself to an elbow and searched for Valori.
"Hello, sleepyhead!" Caveman laughed. The graying redhead came to her side and helped her to her feet. "We thought you'd sleep all day after your wild Portal ride. Would you like something to eat or drink?"
She nodded. "I'm very thirsty now that I think about it. Is Valori okay?"
Caveman gestured for a drinks trolley. "We have all your favorite BloodDark beverages—hot redwort tea, cold bloodfruit juice, sparkling cave spring waters with just a hint of sulphur..."
"Tea please." The thought of the mineral-laden water made her stomach churn, and she never could stand much of the sickly sweet bloodfruit, a cross between an orange and a sugar beet, or so it tasted. She accepted a cup and sat at the table with him and Hernando. "Caveman, you haven't answered my question about Valori. How is she?"
Wearing city clothing of dark green trousers and a long jacket and without his iconic derby hat and dusty leatherwear, Caveman possessed less leprechaun charm and more seriousness in his dimpled expression. The hesitation she noted in his tone was not characteristic of him, either. "Valori is being... attended to... It's all I can say at this point. Her health is not in danger."
What does he mean? I'm getting a feeling while she's not in danger we could still be in danger. "Annara? Where is she?"
"She recovered quickly and is briefing our security committee." Hernando's weak grin indicated he was still feeling the ill effects of Portal transport, but he was fighting hard to throw them off and get to the business at hand. He cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "Don't worry about your parents, Olivia. I've sent a diplomatic bag to our embassy staff on Earth and had our communications officer inform your family that you are okay and were not abducted against your will this time... At least, you weren't abducted to BloodDark without first giving your consent."
"Thank you. I hadn't thought about it, but this is the second time I've mysteriously vanished from Earth without my parents' knowledge." Olivia couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity. "I shouldn't go
